Firefighter Released, Elected Officials Act as Bear Gulch Fire Immigration Raid Sparks Backlash
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Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez stands with an attorney outside of the ICE detention center where he was held for nearly four weeks. Hernandez, a firefighter who was detained while battling a wildfire in Washington state, was released Tuesday, his attorneys said. (Courtesy photo/Innovation Law Lab) [/caption]
News by Mark Rose
One of the firefighters nabbed in the Bear Gulch Immigration Raid on August 27 has been released and returned home with his family. The raid resulted in two wildland firefighting crews being detained and two crew members taken into custody as alleged “illegal aliens.”
The immigration raid on an active fire shocked wildland firefighters and has led to elected officials at the national, state, and local levels seeking to “protect, not persecute” first responders, as our congressional representative, Emily Randall, said.
Rigoberto Hernandez was released after nearly four weeks in detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, according to Matt Adams, the legal director of the Northwest Immigration Rights Project, as reported by Alex Brown of Stateline.
“I am glad that I am home, and I am excited to see my family,” Hernandez said in the statement issued by the legal groups, as reported by Alex Brown. “I want to give my thanks to everyone — for their prayers, for the rallies, for sharing about what happened to me and the other firefighter. So many people stepped up to help, and now I want to help others just like they helped me.”
What strikes me most about Hernandez’s picture is that charred and ash-encrusted yellow fire-resistant shirt. That’s what he must have been wearing when they trapped the two crews on Bear Gulch. Hernandez has been in this country since he was four, and he was on his fire crew for three years. He earned every smudge on that fire shirt, scraping and digging and clawing through the ash. That’s what he wears proudly after thirty days in detention. That’s the statement he gives, full of humility and gratitude. These are the “dangerous criminals” that ICE is targeting.
Our Elected Officials Step Up
U.S. Representative Emily Randall has sponsored the Emergency Response Location Protection Act (H.R. 5603), to limit immigration enforcement in designated emergency areas. She condemned the Bear Gulch immigration raid.
“This is wrong and dangerous,” Randall said. “That's why I'm introducing the Emergency Responder Protection Act to ensure our first responders can do their jobs without looking over their shoulders. When disaster strikes, our priority must be community safety — not advancing political agendas. Our firefighters, paramedics and emergency personnel run toward danger when others run away. They deserve our protection, not our persecution.”
Wayne Fournier, a Thurston County Commissioner, was the first to propose a local ordinance to protect first responders as a result of the Bear Gulch immigration raid.
The Jefferson County Commissioners are considering several options and are likely to support a statewide initiative or collaborate with other counties. What action they take remains to be seen, but they are committed to taking a stand to protect first responders against the kind of shameful raid at Bear Gulch.
